


Soft Shoe Gentle Sway

by TenTomatoes



Series: Dancing with the Stars [2]
Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: EVERYONE - Freeform, Hannibal Chau is Ron Pearlman, Hermann is Len Goodman, Multi, Raleigh is a Property Brother, dancing with the stars au, everyone is pining for someone
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-22
Updated: 2018-09-28
Packaged: 2019-06-14 06:07:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15382353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TenTomatoes/pseuds/TenTomatoes
Summary: Is the hot chemistry between Mako Mori and Property Brother Raleigh Becket strictly on the ballroom floor? Will judges Newt Geiszler and Hermann Gottlieb finally do what Twitter has been demanding they do for nine seasons and kiss? Can Jake Pentecost redeem himself from his shameful withdraw in season one? Did Hannibal Chau just imply he killed someone on Dinsey night?With romance, tears, passion, and yes, maybe even some dancing, Season 10 of Dancing with the Stars may be the most show-stopping season yet.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Title from I Don't Feel Like Dancing by Scissor Sisters

There was something about going from his quaint studio in London to the glitz and cameras and masses of Las Vegas to be a celebrity judge for a ballroom dancing reality TV show that even after all these years, still didn’t feel quite real. Hermann was used to the fast-paced life of ballroom dancing, but Dancing with the Stars was something different altogether. And compared to the peaceful almost sedentary pace Hermann carved out for himself and his dance studio, it was like comparing a quickstep to a waltz. The time between seasons was just long enough for Hermann to settle back into his slow, sweeping waltz tempoed life only for the time signature change again, sending Hermann stumbling to right himself in the strange dance of show business.    

Hermann had flown in a few days before he was due to deal with the studio. Being a judge meant his job was rather light in terms of workload. While the professional dancers and celebrities had weeks of grueling practices and rehearsals, Hermann simply had to show up on filming days, observe, and critique. The rest of the week was his, and though he  _could_ , flying from London to Las Vegas every week did not appeal to him. So he, or more correctly Karla, had found him a neat and lovely building where he was able to open up the second Gottlieb’s School of Dance and build up a decent student base to keep himself busy. The fact he was now a famous celebrity judge seemed to help with that, not that he needed it with his impeccable reputation and history. Hermann had spent the last few days before filming getting the studio ready for students again, going through the class lists, creating schedules, finalizing choreography. It was busy work that kept his mind off of the upcoming season and what, who, came with it.

After 9 seasons, Hermann was still unsure if he loved or hated first episodes.

It would have been a sweltering day in London, but for Las Vegas, it was practically pleasant. Hermann was able to shrug on his cardigan without even a moment of hesitation and let the familiar cotton settle over his shoulders. Hermann didn’t have any silly superstitions but after season 6 he realized he did happen to wear this cardigan on most first episodes. It tended to ground him, though he was rueful to admit he needed grounding. With his cardigan, his cane, and his bag, Hermann realized he had no more reason to stall and so he called a cab and made his way to the filming studio. 

At first, Hermann had been hesitant to accept the role as a judge on Dancing with the Stars. But if Hermann was good at anything, it was being judgmental. Though he tried to keep his critiques as soft as he could, they were beginners, after all, he couldn't deny he took pleasure tearing a dance down to its basic components and quantifying it's worth. He was not the favorite judge on the show, many people thought him old-fashioned and cruel, but there were worse things to be. Such as blinded by fancy tricks and glittering costumes as  _some_  people were.  

Hermann pushed the thoughts away. It was no good to think of some people. It only made his heart start to pound and a nervousness that had nothing to do with judging well in his stomach. No, it was much better to think of something else, such as the class lists. 

Hermann busied himself with going over the studio business the rest of the drive and he didn't let himself think about anything else, not once. Once Hermann made it to the studio it was much easier keep himself distracted. The studio was bursting with activity as people ran around trying to get everything in order, it was simple to let himself get caught up in the bustle. 

When Hermann finally made it to the meeting room, he paused and took a deep breath, steadying himself, but when he opened the door only Stacker and Herc were in the room politely chatting.

Typical, Hermann thought, of course he'd be late. 

"Hello, Mr. Pentecost, Mr. Hansen," Hermann greeted making his way the table and unpacking his bag. 

The two men shared their hellos, and their simple small talk faded into the background as Hermann found himself sitting straight across from the clock. Hermann tried to ignore it, perhaps join in with Stacker and Hansen's chat, but the horribly loud ticking of the clock kept drawing his attention back to one thing. Come on. Any minute now, Hermann thought. He kept his guard up, he wouldn't be caught unaware. 

“Alright,” finally came a voice came from the door. “Who’s ready for the double digits!?”

And it here it was. The reason he wore his favorite cardigan like armor. The reason he kept his mind as busy as he could on leading up to the season starting. The reason he wasn’t sure if he loved or hated first episodes.

Because even after all this time, 5 years, 9 seasons, seeing Newton Geiszler again hit just as hard as it did the first time. His time in London would lull him back into the old comfort of denial he was accustom to all those years after their first disastrous meeting, only for the sound of his voice to stir up every emotion Hermann spent so long forgetting. The longing, the annoyance, the fear, the love.

“Hermann,” Newton said sliding into a seat next to him nodding his head in acknowledgment. “Hermann’s first episode sweater.” He nodded again.

Hermann tried to ignore the sharp pang in his chest and instead let the sight of that cheeky grin flood him with annoyance.

“Newton, I see you’ve still yet to develop manners. You're late.”

The moment the words came out, Hermann felt everything click and he knew he was back in the right tempo. He watched as Newton rolled his eyes as hard as he could and Hermann was almost sure he knew what he would say next. Because while this tempo, this dance, was different from anything else, it was familiar. Newton was familiar.

But before Newton’s could say anything, Stacker cleared his throat pointedly and Hermann snapped to attention, flooding with the shame he always felt when he went back and watched old seasons seeing him and Newton bicker like children. Stacker gave them a stern look that had a soft hint of fatherly disapproval that Hermann wasn’t sure why affected him. It certainly didn’t affect Newton.

“I can’t separate you like we do in the show, so you could at least let us get through this meeting before you get,”

Stacker paused, as though he was trying to find the right word but came up blank. TV critics liked to call it chemistry, Tendo called in unbridled sexual tension, Karla called it bickering like an old married couple. Hermann didn’t particularly like any of those options.

“It,” he finally settled on. “Out of your system.”

“Of course, I apologize,” Hermann said.

“Let’s get down to it. Please tell me this is the season we get Bill Nye,” Newton said as he did every season.

“First, there is going to be a change in the professional line up,” Stacker said.

“Ah, Jasmine and Mika decided to take time off to plan their wedding,” said Herc seeming to remember. “They aren’t available this season.”

Stacker nodded, opening a file in front of him. Hermann had always wondered about that folder. Stacker had one every season and would shuffle the pages as they moved through the meeting, but he never once looked at the pages.

“To replace them we’ll have Mako Mori and Jake Pentecost,” he announced firmly.

Hermann only had a moment to smile at the idea of his protégé finally being allowed to take her place as a professional when the second name registered and made his brows furrow.

“Jake?” Hermann asked, lips twisting.

Tension built in the room.

“Are we just going to pretend he didn’t ditch the show in the middle of season one?” Newt asked. “Don’t get me wrong I’d be pumped for Jake to come back he’s a fun dude but…”

“We already walk a thin line for conflict of interests with Herc’s son being a professional dancer. Can we have both of your children, as well as my previous student, and still convince the audience we are partial?” Hermann finished for Newton.

“This may come as a surprise, but our audience isn’t worried about partiality,” Stacker said.

“I find that hard to believe,” Hermann scoffed.

“Of course, we were worried about conflict of interest, so we’ve been looking into audience response. We found that even though Chuck has won two mirror balls, fans don’t believe it has anything to do with Herc being a judge. In response to Mako and Jake, Mako has been in the troop for several years and fans were actually begging for her to be given a spot as one of the professionals. For Jake, it was never announced the way he left and coming back won’t be an issue from an audience standpoint.”

 _And it won’t be an issue from a judging standpoint either_ , went unsaid. But Stacker’s firm stare made the demand clear. Hermann nodded showing his support.

“Ok yeah yeah yeah, conflicts of interest whatever, I want to know which celebrities I get to meet this season,” Newt said.

After 9 seasons, the only response was for Stacker to flip a page in his folder.

Stacker walked them through the rest of the meeting, going over each couple, the themes they had planned for the season. This season would have 10 contestants, as it was they 10th season, and they would be pulling some of the favorite themes from over the years. The meeting itself was rather unnecessary, the first season they had each been given a file to read that explained what Stacker just went through. But  _some people_  didn’t read their file and Stacker learned early it was better to do most things in person, no matter how impractical it tended to be.

“Now,” Stacker said closing the folder. “One last thing considering the opening number for this episode.”

The week 1 opening numbers were always spectacles that Hermann privately thought were rather tacky at times, but he supposed that was the fate of TV. Stacker and the producers had done a marvelous job keeping the show classy enough that Hermann couldn’t fault them for needing a little drama. Just reading off the names of couples didn’t make for good TV.

“We’ve decided to include the judges during the number. No dancing, just a bit of play acting. We thought it would be good to get you involved and interacting with the dancers as we no longer are worried about fraternizing.”

Hermann sighed. He was used to acting, but that had always been his least favorite part of dancing. He still wasn’t sure how he had managed to smile so hard for so many years, now when he tried his checks began to twitch after a while.

“No rehearsal?” Herc asked.

“It’ll only be for a few seconds for each of you so there’s no need,” Stacker said and as always that was it. “Any questions?”

It was a clear dismissal and Hermann wasted no time packing up, trying to ignore Newton doing the next to him. There were still a few hours before the filming would start, but Hermann thought he’d go to wardrobe and makeup to get it out of the way. Not to hide from Newton, who always waited until the last minute to do anything, of course, but because Hermann was a practical man. As he made his way to the door, Newton quickly jogged to catch up and slip out into the hallway with him.

“How about that Herman? Looks like I’m the most credible judge now,” Newton said.

Hermann snorted.

“That would imply you wouldn’t give the mirror ball to whoever had the most sparkly costume and the best pyrotechnics.”

“Better than the couple who had the most boring textbook dance known to man,” Newton said as though just the words bored him.

It was an old argument, well-worn and Hermann would be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy it each time they had it.

“There’s nothing wrong with a technically beautiful dance,” Hermann said.

Newton’s face grimaced but when he went to respond, with something Hermann was sure to be ridiculous as always, Stacker called for Newt back in the meeting room. Newton rolled his eyes.

“Whatever dude gotta go.”

Hermann huffed, perhaps a little miffed their argument had been cut short, perhaps at being called dude, but then Newton was grinning. And then he was in front of Hermann, hands curling around Hermann’s arms leaning in close as though sharing a secret. Hermann was sure his heart had stuttered to a stop. Newton was so rarely this near; Hermann could see the freckles along the bridge of his nose, the beginning of a beard poking out along his jaw, the way his eyes gleamed in barely restrained glee.

God, Hermann loved first episodes.

“I got a good feeling about this season Hermann,” Newton said, thankfully oblivious to the way he was making Hermann’s mind stop with just the warmth of his hands on his arms. “It’s going to be the best yet.”

And with a final pat, he was gone, jogging down the hall without a second glance. Hermann took a deep breath and rebuilt the walls that Newton had so easily broken down with just a brief touch.

God, Hermann hated first episodes.

 

\--

 

 “Mr. Gottlieb!” Meilin smiled as he found her in the costuming room. “I’ve got some beautiful suits for you this season.”

After season one, the producer had decided that Hermann wasn’t allowed to dress himself for episodes anymore. Hermann himself wasn’t quite sure what was so wrong with his respectable sweaters and button-ups but allowed Meilin to excitedly show him suit after suit anyway. The only thing that kept him from outright refusing was at least they controlled Newton’s wardrobe as well.

Meilin was grinning at him in a particularly nervous way as he made his way over to her and Hermann immediately frowned, knowing just what that look meant.

“Mr. Gottlieb-.”

“What does it look like this season?” Hermann asked, folding his hands over his cane stiffly.

“Mr. Gottlieb, it’s really not that wild,” Meilin tried to reassure as she pulled a hanging bag from the rack. “See.”

Meilin was always trying to get Hermann to wear something other than a standard black suit. Over the seasons, she had worn him down to colorful ties and some striking vests and it had gotten her overconfident and thinking she could get him in some gaudy colorful suit that looked like something Newton would wear. Hermann had held strong but Meilin was crafty; last season she had slowly given him suits that turned ever so slightly lighter until by the end of the season he had been in a navy-blue suit and he hadn’t even noticed until he was rewatching the episode a few months later.

The suit she pulled out, Hermann begrudgingly admitted it wasn’t too gaudy as she said. It was the same dark olive color his current sweater was, she must have been eyeing his normal wardrobe in preparation for this season. However, Hermann knew that if he agreed to wear this suit it would only get worse until he was looking as ridiculous as Newton did, with god forbid, metallic print. So, he gave Meilin a disapproving look that had her sighing and shaking her head as she put it back.

“Okay, okay. But how about a vest the same color?” Meilin tried valiantly.

Hermann conceded, and he was handed a different hanger. Meilin gave him one last smile as she scurried off to get another person squared away. Hermann did not envy Meilin and her team who had to put together each costume every week, especially when the professionals were feeling particularly ostentatious. Hermann found the nearest changing room and efficiently changed into the suit and took a step back and looked at himself in the mirror.

Vanessa had told him a while ago there were a lot of fans of Hermann in a suit on the internet. Hermann had hardly believed her until she had pulled up some rather desperate tweets that often involved a lot of emoticons and the phrase I’d die for you. Hermann wasn’t sure how to feel about that, but Vanessa and his siblings found it hilarious and were in a competition to find what they called the ‘thirstiest tweet’. Hermann regretted the day Bastien added him to their group chat.

Hermann packed away his street clothes and continued on his way to make up. There was a new boy there, who nervously introduced himself as Ilya and excitedly told Hermann about how much he loved this show and how thrilled he was to be a part of it. Newton would like this kid, Hermann thought. Newton always liked people who were as excitable as he was. He thanked the boy, who was looking a little starry-eyed and went to leave   

Just as he made it to the door someone bumped into his chest, Hermann jerked back, glancing down to see Mako.

“Mr. Gottlieb, I’m sorry,” she said, bowing softly.

“I’m sorry as well,” Hermann said.

There was a beat before he smiled.

“Are you ready, Miss. Mori?” he asked.

Mako smiled up at him, and he could see the nervous but excited energy vibrating in her grin.

“I’m ready,” she said firmly.

“Of course, you’ve been ready for years. It’s a shame you haven’t been allowed to be a professional until now,” Hermann huffed. “I know what you’re capable of, so I will be watching you very closely.”

“I will do my best to make you proud,” she said firmly; the same determination that allowed her to win competition after competition radiated off her.

Mako had always been his favorite student, she had been hard working and passionate. The way she watched dancing reminded Hermann of himself when he was young, wide-eyed and full of wonder. She had pushed herself, worked until Hermann forced her to stop, and every time she danced she left her entire self on the dance floor as though this was the last time she would be able to do so. There was no doubt in Hermann’s mind that with the right partner, Mako would win this competition.

“You will,” he said, hoping that Becket boy would be worthy of being her partner.

Mako smiled up at him one last time, before excusing herself politely and ducking into the hair and makeup area. Hermann watched her go with a lightness. This was what it was about, the passion of dancing transferring from person to person. Mako had gotten her passion from her father and now she would pass it on to all her partners.

This show was a celebration of dance and it was never more highlighted than in the first episode of the season. Hermann loved first episodes.

The next hour was a blur. People running here and there, trying to finalize last details and get everyone ready for taping. That was the challenge with live shows, they had one chance to get it right.

One of the producers, Quan, ran up to him and began pushing him to his starting position until Hermann grumbled waving him away.

“Go, go. I know where I need to be. Go find someone else to bother.”

Quan had a poker face to rival Stacker, but he tended to run around like a chicken with his head cut off despite seeming completely calm. Quan gave him a small nod before taking off.

Hermann watched the bustle and couldn’t help but let the excitement affect him. This was it. In only minutes they would be live, and the season would begin.

Hermann found his starting spot, seeing Sasha and another dancer just a few feet away. Hermann had been told at some point she would make her way over to him for a quick few seconds of playful acting. Her nodded in hello and she smirked at him.

“Quiet on set,” Stacker yelled.

Immediately, everyone went silent. But even as the noise ceased, the buzz of excitement only rose. There was an electric energy trapped in its potential phase, like a tightly coiled muscle waiting for the right count to release. Hermann could feel it in the air, sending a shiver up his spine.

“Alright, we’re going live in 3, 2...- “

With a nod from Stacker, the season had started, the music strained from the speakers, and the energy was released.

[Hermann stood smiling against a sleek car watching](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmRtGmnQ2CI) the cameraman move down the aisle, Nate and Aleksis doing an energetic Cha Cha step in front of him. It would be on him soon. Thinking the same thing, Sasha pranced up to him, flashing the grin that had made her famous, dangerous but soft enough it could still be considered a smile. She shook her hips at him playfully and reached out to tug on his tie. Hermann gave her a long-suffering smile when he felt a hand on the back of his neck and he was pulled against a firm chest and a pair of lips crash against his cheek. Hermann barely had to play up the look of shocked confusion as he looked over to see Jake Pentecost smiling cheekily at him. That boy!

Before Hermann even had a chance to do anything there was a loud bell chirping and Hermann watched wide-eyed as Newton in a rickshaw came flying by. Newton spared a brief second to wink at Hermann before he turned to the camera hamming it up with wide strokes of his arm like he was some sort of Roman Emperor and a smoldering gaze. Hermann watched him disappear with what he was sure was his trademarked unimpressed face that the producers just loved to linger on. Jake patted Hermann’s shoulder before he took off running to the studio with Sasha, on to the next big choreographed scene. Hermann rolled his eyes.

He hated first episodes.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Back in season one, Hermann had sat in the middle of the table with Newton on his left and Herc on his right. But after what Stacker had called “childish and unprofessional behavior”, Herc had been placed in the middle for the last 8 seasons. Hermann had liked being in the middle, he didn’t miss Newton slapping his shoulder or poking his cheek when he was being particularly annoying, but he did miss being able to lean over and whisper disparaging comments about the contestants into Newton’s ear, so the microphones wouldn’t pick it up. He had tried to do so with Herc once, but that man was a stone and he only gave Hermann a disappointed look so now he had to store all the comments until the end of the episode.

Newton was already at the judging table when he made it back. He was wearing a particularly bright silver suit that Hermann hated because it didn’t look nearly as bad on Newton as it should.

Herc was still missing so there was no one separating them as Hermann slid into his seat on the left of the table.

“A rickshaw Newton? Really?”

“Hey man, that wasn’t even my idea though I wish it was. Pretty cool wasn’t it?”

“I don’t know why I’m still surprised at the thing you consider cool.”

“Probably because you wouldn’t know cool if it was dressed in sequins and doing the Cha Cha.”

Herc chose that moment to slip into his seat in between them, lightly covered head to toe in glitter.

“What did they have you do?” Hermann asked.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

Thankfully, Herc was saved from the steely glint in Newton’s eyes by the dance floor being flooded with the couples doing their last big combination to open the episode.

“Hello everyone!” Tendo yelled from center stage when the music died and the dancing stopped.

The audience screamed appropriately.

“Welcome to season 10 of Dancing with the Stars. We are excited to have 10 amazing celebrities with us this season that are sure to give us the most showstopping season yet. And of course, we have back our three wonderful judges, Herc Hansen, New Geiszler, and Hermann Gottlieb.” 

Hermann gave a nod and a smile to the camera filming them, trying to ignore Newton obnoxiously blowing kisses, like he was some sort of Beatle.

“Remember America, you have a part in deciding the winner this season. At the end of the night, we will combine your live voting and the judges' scores, and we will have our first elimination. Don’t forget to text your support to save your favorite dancer.

“Now let’s get to what you all came here for, the dancing. To start us off this season we have tech genius, Liwen Shao.”

They all turned to the big screen where the video package showing highlights from the couple’s week of practice began playing. The video packaged opened to a talking head of Liwen in the backstage interview room.

 

“My name is Liwen Shao. I am the founder and CEO of Shao industries and have been featured on shows such as Shark Tank.”

Liwen was a sharp woman. She had a hard, no-nonsense look about her that Hermann could respect but he was interested to see how she would fare this season. For as elegant as ballroom looked, Hermann knew it rarely felt as elegant, especially when you were first beginning. She certainly did not look like she was here for a bit of fun.

“What made you want to do Dancing with the Stars?” Quan asked from off stage.

“Something about the show caught my eye and I decided to pursue it. Once I make a decision I don’t change my mind.”

The video switched to Liwen standing in one of the practice rooms, already dressed in clothes to dance in. Though her exercise clothes still seemed to be quite chic and her makeup in perfect order. Nate entered cautiously, with that nervous energy that all professionals had when meeting their partners for the first time. It was a forced positive for they knew they weren’t allowed to seem upset with their choice in partner, no matter who it was.

“Hi,” Nate said neutrally, slightly unsure of who he was approaching. “I’m Nate Lambert, I’ll be your partner this season.”

Liwen nodded to him, reaching out to shake hands.

“I am Liwen Shao,” she greeted

“Of Shao industries?” he asked eyebrows rising to his hairline.

Hermann didn’t blame him, he still couldn’t believe the developer of half the electronics used today had decided she wanted to come join their ballroom dance competition show.

“Yes, I worked very hard establishing my company and I will work just as hard at this show, but I want to make one thing clear Nate,” Liwen said chillingly composed. “I do not lose.”

Nate looked taken aback by the blunt statement but quickly he nodded.

“Then we won’t.”

They shared a look, both seeming to size each other up until Liwen nodded.

“Then let’s start.”

It was perhaps the most intense first meeting they had had on this show. They would certainly be an interesting couple.

The video became a montage of Nate and Liwen working through their practices. Liwen had a natural grace Hermann could tell from the short shots he saw. The practices looked to be going smoothly until in one scene Nate stopped them mid-move with a dark frown.

“Come on, you need to be close,” Nate sighed.

The distaste was clear across Liwen’s face, but she allowed herself to be pulled closer. Immediately she tensed.

“You can’t tense up,” Nate said, frustration leaking into his voice. “This is a partnered sport you can’t push me away. You’ll have to be close to me.”

He reached up to touch her cheek, but Liwen caught the hand just before it skimmed her skin.

They stood in the middle of the floor, still in a half embrace, neither willing to back down first.

“I won’t be made to look like a fool,” she said.

“If you look like a fool, I’ll look like a fool. I want perfection just as much as you do but if you want to win, you have to trust me,” he said firmly.

Finally, Liwen seemed to make her decision and she released Nate’s hand and allowed it to gently skim her cheek and cup the back of her neck.

“This will be awkward for you, especially certain styles of dance. If you are ever too uncomfortable tell me and I can change the choreography. If it helps, just pretend I’m someone else, your boyfriend or something.”

Liwen let out a snort and gave him a baleful look.

“Oh,” Nate said, looking as though he was trying not to smile. “Ok, no boyfriend. Actually, that explains a lot.”

“Come, from the top,” Liwen said readjusting their stance.

Nate shook his head and nodded.

Hermann was pleased to see when she changed their hold it was much closer and natural than it had been when Nate stopped them.

With a few more filler shots the video package faded to an end, flashing the Dancing with the Stars logo.

 

[“Dancing the waltz, Liwen Shao and her partner Nate Lambert,” Tendo called.](https://youtu.be/fFpWo2QmBTQ?list=PLK1f1bOs9Xyd50jrkP1dDe5YS518KWVZl&t=72)

The waltz was not a common first-week dance, but it made sense. There were few dances as elegant as the waltz and Hermann was sure that Nate realized Liwen was a woman of elegance.

Liwen and Nate were clothed in a tasteful but shimmering dark blue, matching the lights that gave just enough light to see as they slowly began to come to life with movement. It was a tasteful dance, a good classic waltz sprinkled with a few high kicks and smooth but interesting turns. Liwen was a controlled dancer, which made for a clean dance, but it led to a bit of awkwardness, making it almost stilted.

But even with that, it was a beautiful, enjoyable dance and Hermann didn’t even have to pretend to smile and clap for as the music faded and they struck a pose. It was better than Hermann had expected but he had been expecting a good dance to begin with. Perhaps the most shocking thing was that as soon as they were done, stumbling from their end pose, Liwen gave a wide, genuine smile to Nate, caught up in the adrenaline and lights and finishing her first dance.

By the time Tendo called them over to stand by the judges' table the smile had dropped to a thin, neutral fraction of what Hermann had caught.

Hermann looked down at the sheet that told them the order they would go and was upset to see Newton got to go first this time.

“Wow! That was a dance to start off the season!” Newton yelled jumping out of his seat. “Liwen that was stunning! You’ve got all this natural grace but I’m gonna need you to take a huge full body shake out to get yourself to loosen up. Chill out a bit and make sure you have fun. Dancing is fun!”

It held the same sentiment that Hermann would have shared, but it was done in a particular Newton way that made Hermann almost roll his eyes. Liwen only nodded and turned her attention to Hermann.

“It was a very elegant dance. I appreciate a new dancer who has as much control as you do. Very beautiful extension of your limbs, which can be tricky to get used to. I’m looking forward to seeing what you’re able to accomplish this season.”

Hermann thought of reiterating Newton’s point but decided Newton had gotten the point across no matter the way he did it.

Herc’s critique was just as simple as Hermann’s. Episode one was always hard for Hermann, they weren’t supposed to get into the hard-gritty details of their critiques, only the fluffy parts. He allowed it because he was allowed to be as harsh as he wanted for the rest of the season. It was a compromise.

Finally, Tendo pulled Liwen and Nate to have one of those little interviews that he did that Hermann rarely paid attention to. Instead, he looked down at his notes, finalizing his thoughts and deciding on a score. Back when he sat next to Newton, there were times he would look over to see what Newton had scored. Apparently, that wasn’t allowed and was yet another reason they had been separated by Herc. Hermann didn’t try to look at Herc’s scores.

“And now for the judges' scores. Newt Geiszler,” Tendo said.

“7!” Newton said with his normal flourish, throwing his sign with his score up like a fan in a traditional dance.

“Herc Hensen.”

“8!”

“Hermann Gottlieb.”

“7.”

“A total score of 22 points! A great score to start off the season.”

The audience shared their appreciation and Liwen and Nate were allowed to run off stage to the large balcony where the dancers waited and watched the rest of the episode.

Tendo introduced the next dancer who was some washed up has been that Hermann had never heard of. Hermann knew he wouldn’t last long. After 9 seasons, Hermann was decent at predicting how these things would go. Audience participation actually mattered more than he preferred, and without a strong backing, it was too easy for contestants to be voted off. Hermann has seen too many dancers with a lot of potential get picked off by apathy.

The next contestant, however, announced her presence in the video by literally tossing a grown man over her shoulder. She would not be so easily forgotten.

 

“I’m Vik Malikova, the youngest female MMA champion in the world,” Vik said it proudly as if daring anyone to question her ability just for the chance for her to prove it once again.

Vik’s partner turned out to be Chuck and Hermann realized that they were in for a very interesting season. Whoever had done the pairing for this season was probably sitting back laughing at a job well but also entertainingly done. Chuck was known as one of the most intense professional partners, to put it kindly. If Hermann remembered right, he had made every one of his partners cry at least once.

As Hermann watch Chuck’s demands get met with Vik’s almost aggressive persistence, he decided there probably wouldn’t be any tears this season.

Unless they came from Chuck. Hermann watched as Chuck dropped to the ground in pain after Vik accidentally kicked him during practice. He didn’t laugh, but it was close.

This video ended with Vik staring at the camera and proudly declaring something about bigger being better. Her statement made more sense when the dance started.

 

[“Dancing the salsa Vik Malikova and her partner Chuck Hansen.”](https://youtu.be/h4wykQ2-34c?t=111)

It was a… big dance. They were in bright, sparkling pink; Chuck’s shirt open because of course that boy couldn’t even wait until week two to show off his chest. Chuck knew well enough to have at least a good amount of the dance still in hold, but the number of kicks, lifts, and even flips was shocking. Especially for a first-week dance. Hermann was rather taken aback.

The dance was fun, but Hermann could see Vik struggling to keep up. Her raw athleticism let her hit all the tricks, but she was missing the musicality of it all. Her hips not hitting the right salsa tempo. Normally, Chuck was better as choreographing to the level of the celebrity, but he had really missed the mark with this dance.

The dance ended with an equally big flourish, Chuck lifting Vik over his head before letting her fall to the ground, catching her just before she hit, and the crowd went wild. Hermann realized he was first up to judge and almost sighed. Instead, he made eye contact with Newton and shooed his hand. Newton immediately went into raving about the electricity and fun and energy of the dance, sparing only a small throwaway comment about Vik’s needed to work on her rhythm.

Herc stared at Newton a little off guard but easily went into his own critique. Herc tended to spend less time judging Chucks dances, leaving it to Newton and Hermann, trying to limit the material that could be considered a conflict of interest. His critique was neutral, mostly talking about how exciting it would be to see her grow this season. Finally, it was Hermann’s turn, but with the time he had managed to put together a way to soften his critique. 

“I understand that you think bigger is better,” Hermann said. “But in this case, you went too big and forgot that the details of the dance. This probably would have been an amazing dance in a later week but right now there wasn’t the foundation to make it work.”

Chuck and Vik both seemed to be radiating anger behind their smiles, but Hermann was unbothered. He was here to judge and if they were here to be judged.

“Judges, can we have your scores?” Tendo asked, in that ridiculously rhetorical TV way. “Newt Geiszler.”

“7!” Newton said with his normal flourish.

“Herc Hensen.”

“7!”

“Hermann Gottlieb.”

“7.”

“A total score of 21 points!”

Tendo led them to the balcony for an after results interview Hermann was glad he didn’t have to pay attention to.

“When was the judging order changed?” Herc asked as they went to commercial.

“Oh it wasn’t, we just decided I should go first,” Newton said.

“When was this?”

“Didn’t you see Hermann’s ‘I want to rip this dance to shreds but I’m not allowed to because it’s the first week and I have to be nice so you have to go first so I don’t look like a huge dick’ hand?”

Herc looked at Hermann in confusion but seemed to not get the help he wanted because he just sighed.

“I really don’t see how they think putting me between stops you two.”

Hermann scoffed and looked down at his sheet, what ridiculousness it all was. He looked to see who would be dancing next and his heart picked up, realizing it was Mako. This would be her big professional partner debut. He decided to allow himself this small amount of unprofessionalism and be nervous for her. When Tendo introduced her partner, Hermann tired not to take a deep breath and turned to the screen to watch the video package.

 

Raleigh stood against a backdrop of a house clearly under construction.

“Hi, I’m Raleigh Becket from HGTV and I’m one of the Property Brothers,” he said smiling softly.

It quick cut to another man who looked similar to Raleigh standing next to him.

“And I’m Yancy Becket, the cooler Property Brother,” he said.

“Hey,” Raleigh said but before he could say anything else it video cut to a shot of Mako.

“I’m Mako Mori and I have been in the troupe for 6 seasons, but this is my first time being one of the professional partners. I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time.”

“Do you think you can win the mirror ball in your first season?” Quan’s voice said off-screen.

Mako blinked, looking bemused.

“Of course,” she said, as though it had never occurred to her that she couldn’t.

Hermann smiled.

The video cut back to Raleigh, this time by himself, sitting on a set of unfinished steps.

“Actually, Yancy was the one who signed me up for Dancing with the Stars. We’ve watched it together and always joked about it and I guess he finally made that last push. I’m,” he paused, smiling sheepishly. “I’m definitely excited but dancing isn’t what I do. I could build the stage props pretty damn well though.”

“Do I think I can win?” he repeated the edited-out question. “I’m not sure but I might as well try.”

Mako walked up to the house, a big umbrella keeping the rain off her.

“I’m not sure what to expect,” Mako’s voice over said. “A construction worker? A good partner is one of the most important things in ballroom dancing, it can make or break a dance. I’m really hoping I can connect with my partner this season.”

Just as she approached, Raleigh appeared in the doorless doorway. There was a moment where only the rain could be heard.

“Hi,” Raleigh said, looking as though he had been hit with a ton of bricks.

Mako smiled and bowed slightly.

“I’m Mako Mori. I’ll be your partner this season,” she said.

That seemed to knock Raleigh back into functioning because he strode forward and reached out a hand to shake and lead her into the house and out of the rain.

“I’m Raleigh Becket,” he said.

“I know,” Mako said taking his hand.

“Oh, I didn’t think they told you who your partner is.”

“They don’t, I watch your show.”

Raleigh’s face lit up in dizzy shock.

“Oh my god,” Raleigh said, back in the talking head, head in his hands. “It’s Mako Mori.” 

It cut to a shot of Raleigh looking at Mako as though she hung the stars for a quick second.

“She’s so amazing,” Raleigh said face still in his hands. “I can’t believe I’m going to be her first partner. She should have been a partner years ago.”

When they switched back, Mako and Raleigh were stretching in one of the practice studios.

“Have you ever danced before?” Mako asked tentatively.

Raleigh laughed.

“All I know is a basic waltz step,” he said.

“You do?” she asked, looking pleasantly surprised.

“Yeah, my mom liked to put on music and dance in the kitchen with my dad. She taught us the steps she knew, which were just the basic steps. I’ve always wanted to learn how to dance because of her.”

“I wanted to learn how to dance because of my parent too,” Mako said.

“Yeah?”

She nodded as she switched legs she was stretching.

“I guess you actually followed through with it,” Raleigh said.

Mako smiled, getting up and extending her hand.

“And now you will too. It’s good you have a foundation, it will help.”

 He and Mako shared a warm smile as he grasped her hand and allowed her to pull him up.

“This is so big. It’s her first season,” said Raleigh’s voice over as Mako and he worked their way through practice. “She’s so amazing, I know she’s worked so hard to be able to be a professional partner. I need to do my best for her.”

Suddenly it cut to Raleigh looking deadly serious.

“We have to win.”

The audience screamed as the video faded. Hermann himself was simply relived, if not a little blown away. Clearly, the boy knew what a treasure he had in being Mako’s partner, very clearly. Almost a little too clearly. Hermann had a feeling Stacker was going to regret that he had been pushed to let Mako be a partner.

 

[“Dancing the tango, Raleigh Becket and his partner Mako Mori,” Tendo called.](https://youtu.be/SR1m8RXLtjM?list=PLK1f1bOs9XycnnCrDxRB4e9fFMpUeO879&t=91)

They started on the stage rather than the ballroom floor, dressed in shimmering silver that seemed to glow in the dark blue light. The music started and within the first 10 seconds, Hermann knew they were about to be blown away. The dance was simply magnificent. Ever move was fluid and sharp and clean, their dance was majorly in the standard tango hold with no fancy flips or kick or jumps to pad the dance. They didn’t wow with tricks or lights, it was just Raleigh and Mako dancing an energy filled beautiful tango.

Hermann was couldn’t help but smile wide as they ended their dance, their forehead pressed together in an incredibly intimate gesture, panting against each other. It was impressive. One of the best week one dances they’ve had. He tried his best not to clap harder than he normally did, but he was just so proud.

Raleigh and Mako spared a quick moment to hug before they ran over to the table for their judging. 

“That was exquisite!” Newton yelled, causing the crowd to roar in agreement.

Hermann sighed in relief that it wasn’t just him who was blown away by the performance.

    “I thought we were going to have a fixer-upper on our hands, but you practically come fully furnished!” Newton continued, popping out of his seat.

Raleigh laughed.

“That’s all thanks to Mako for gutting me and giving me a remodel,” he said.

“Oh no, Raleigh has the natural instincts of a dancer. A good foundation. All he needed was… a coat of paint,” Mako was quick to assure.

Raleigh smiled and wrapped his arm around Mako’s shoulder to pull her into a tight hug.

“That was one of the cleanest week one dances I think we’ve seen on this show. Wonderfully classic choreography Mako looks like it’s going to be an amazing first season for you,” Herc said.

Mako and Raleigh turned to Hermann, and he could see her steeling herself even behind the smile.

“What a marvelous debut for both you and Mr. Becket, Miss. Mori. You had a solid frame through the entire dance but still, your movements were smooth. There was an elegance that we don’t always expect in week one,” Hermann said.

Mako beamed and the audience screamed.

“I will say this,” Hermann started only for the audience to turn on him and start booing.

The first time the audience started booing at him Hermann had been dumbstruck and admittedly a little afraid that would be the end of his judging career. Now there were bets among the staff on how many times Hermann could get the audience to boo in one episode and he liked to make even the one who bet the highest lose.

Hermann continued as if the audience wasn’t there.

“There’s a significant height difference between you and Miss. Mori and that’s going to cause you to want to pull in. You’re going to have to work keeping your posture.”

“Thank you,” Raleigh said, and Hermann was pleased to see that Raleigh seemed to mean it.

“Raleigh Becket and his partner Mako Mori!” Tendo called one more time pulling them over to the side to await the scores.

“All right judges, your scores, please. Newt Geiszler,” Tendo said.

“8 baby!”

“Herc Hensen.”

“8!”

“Hermann Gottlieb.”

“8.”

“A total score of 24 points! Best score of the night so far! How are you feeling?”

Raleigh looked up from where he had pulled Mako into a tight hug.

“I didn’t know what to expect, I was just going to come here and do my best but now I know I need to do more than my best,” Raleigh said. “That’s a good first score, I’m ecstatic, but we can do better.”

“And you Mako? How does your first dance as a partner feel?”

“I couldn’t ask for a better partner than Raleigh. I’m glad my first season will be with him.”

Tendo turned to the camera, letting Mako and Raleigh run off.

Hermann relaxed looking over his notes when Newton turned in his seat practically leaning over Herc to get him.

“She choreographs like you do Hermann,” he said.

It was a simple statement, but it made Hermann’s brain come to a standstill because it reminded Hermann of how long, how well Newton knew him. Hermann’s dancing was the way he showed himself, his whole true being, and Newton not only saw that he understood it. It was terrifying to remember. 

“Oh,” Hermann said.

“But she’s a little more exciting than you.”

“Newton-,”

“Oops, we’re coming back from break,” Newton said sliding back into his seat.

“I swear,” Hermann muttered under his breath.

He took a scowled one last time and turned his attention to the screen.

 

Hannibal Chau sat in the studio room, with a pair of sunglasses and a smile that was two shades too hard to be a true smile. He was a controversial choice for the show, mostly because there were enough rumors that surrounded him he could have a 5 season show and still not run out of material if only half of them were true. Hermann didn’t know if he was truly an exotic animal smuggler or a member of the mob or a weapons dealer, and he didn’t quite care to find out.

“I’m Hannibal Chau. I’m an Oscar-winning actor most well-known for my role as Ron Pearlman in Atlantic Edge.”

“Why did you want to do Dancing with the Stars?” Quan asked off-screen.

“I like the outfits,” Hannibal said with something that could be considered a smile.

Hermann heard the audience laugh weakly, unsure if it was a joke or not. Herman barely paid attention to the rest of the video. Hannibal wouldn’t last long, Hermann was sure. He had his age and lack of athletic based talent going against him. He didn’t know what possessed people like Hannibal to come on this show, they must know they wouldn’t get far and Hannibal didn’t seem like the type of person who did things just for the fun of it. At least he wouldn’t be the first person kicked off. No, that honor would probably go to Annabelle Markis, the almost 80-year-old who Hermann wasn’t even sure could do a turn.

Hermann watched as Hannibal met his partner Sasha. God, they were terrifying together. He wondered what an unedited version of their practices would look like because while they seemed to get on swimmingly, that was two very intimidating people in a small room. Hermann distractedly watched as Sasha and Hannibal squabbled over something, his sunglasses Hermann thought. It looked like the whoever was in charge of censoring would be having a busy season. It was a good thing he would be going home early. Hermann was jarred back to awareness with Tendo calling out.

“Dancing the Cha Cha Hannibal Chau and his partner Sasha Kaidanovsky.”

When the lights went up, the first thing Hermann saw was perhaps the most god-awful pair of golden shoes that he had ever seen, and he had been in ballroom dancing for decades. He was so shocked by the travesty of footwear he couldn’t take his eyes off them, his eye drawn by the sheer blinding brightness of them. Which, as it turned out, lead Hermann to another shocking fact.

Hannibal Chau was a terrific dancer.

He was a big man and Hermann almost couldn’t comprehend how he was moving his feet so quickly, hitting each step with a precision and quickness that was textbook perfection. When he finally looked up, he saw that Hannibal’s body wasn’t doing quite as well as his feet. It was nowhere close to being bad, but it lacked the sharpness that his feet had. There was also a disconnect between Sasha and Hannibal that Hermann had to guess came from the clash of two strong personalities.

Hermann watched them hit a few more sharp moves before they stuck a strong and glittering pose. With the dance done Hermann looked over to Newton who was already looking at him, wide-eyed and mouth agape.

‘What was that!’ Newton mouthed.

Hermann could only shake his head before Hannibal and Sasha were standing in front of him, waiting for their feedback.

“Well,” Hermann said trying to gather his thoughts. “No one had better underestimate you two. You aren’t going to make this an easy competition for anyone, that was some spectacular footwork.”

Hannibal was staring him down, forgetting to smile, and though Hermann only had only good things to say he still felt as though he had said something to make him displeased.

“Hopefully, you can work on getting your upper body to the same level,” Hermann said.

Hannibal nodded his head.

“You seem like you have dance experience already Hannibal because that was a spot-on Cha Cha,” Herc said.

“I like to keep my interest open,” Hannibal said, wonderfully cryptic.

“Wow, man. That was some fancy footwork. Glad you were wearing such crazy shoes, so we focused on it,” Newton said from where he had sprawled in his chair feet on the desk. “Damn, this is gonna be a wild season.”

Hermann watched as Hannibal’s face harden. Newton seemed to notice as well because his eyes widened, and his feet slipped off from the table.

“Alright, let’s let the judges finalize their score,” Tendo said cheerfully, cutting in before Newton could say anything idiotic.

“So tell me, Hannibal, I’m sure we’re all wondering, what’s with the shoes?” Tendo asked.

Hermann actually paid attention because he was wondering as well.

“Spectacular aren’t they, these were designed after a pair I have at home. Everything is about how you present yourself and I always present myself with my best foot forward, so to speak.”

Hermann could actually see the distress as Tendo processed the fact Hannibal didn’t just like his shoes but was proud of them as well. A lesser man would have choked, but in an instant, Tendo’s smile was back.

“Well, I can’t wait to see what you’ll show up with next. How are you feeling about this season, Sasha?”

Hermann turned his attention back to his notes debating his score. The hardest part of judging this show was the wide variety of initial talent. Hannibal gave a very good performance for someone who had no experience. It was not as good as Raleigh’s though. To score Raleigh on the same scale as Hannibal would mean he’d get 10s from week one though he still had room to approve. To score Hannibal on the same scale as Raleigh would be no different than judging him as a professional dancer. It was a delicate system that Hermann didn’t think the audience appreciated. It helped to take detailed notes, which Hermann certainly did.   

“Let’s get the scores from our judges now. Newt Geiszler,” Tendo said.

“7!”

“Herc Hensen.”

“7!”

“Hermann Gottlieb.”

“6.”

“A total score of 20 points!”

The audience cheered appropriately as Tendo directed Sasha and Hannibal backstage.

“I think Hannibal is going to kill me,” Newton said seriously, once he was out of sight.

“One can only hope,” Hermann replied.

“You say that but when I’m dead, you’ll be crying, and I’ll be laughing.”

“You won’t be doing much of anything, you’ll be dead.”

“Shit.”

“Perhaps we can ask Mr. Chau to at least wait until the season is over.”

“It’s not fair, you’re the one who gave him the lowest score. He should try and kill you,”

“I’m sure Hannibal is not going to kill anyone,” Herc said reasonably, almost offhandedly as though he had long ago given up following their conversations and only chimed in on instinct.

“Pity,” Hermann said.

Their attention was stolen by Tendo as he welcomed them back from commercial.

Hermann was chagrined to see that up next it was Annabelle and Aleksis. Hermann tried his best to keep a fake smile up as he watched the almost 80-year-old woman try to shake her hips. Hermann couldn’t help but worry she was going to somehow break something before the dance was up.

She made it through without injury and her critiques were nothing but fluff as they all knew, including her, she wouldn’t be making it past this episode.

“Up next, let see how Olympic gymnast Amara Namani deals with trading in her beams for the ballroom floor,” Tendo said just as they came back from a commercial

 

The music played and there were several shots of Amara, much younger than Hermann had suspected, doing some tricks on a beam.

“I’m Amara Namani and I recently won a gold and silver medal in the Olympics,” she said to the camera. “I wanted to do Dancing With the Stars because I like to push myself and I think this could be my next challenge.”

The camera cut to Amara standing with her eyes closed in the middle of the gymnastics floor.

“Is he coming?” she asked. “Am I just standing here like an idiot or is he actually coming?”

Slowly, Jake started to appear in the background as he crept towards her.

“Hello,” she called. “Partner are you there? Is that you?”

Suddenly, Jake lunged picking her up and spinning her around as she squealed.

“Oh my god,” Amara said when Jake finally set her down.

She turned to him and punched him in the shoulder.

“You scared me!” she said but she was laughing. “I’m Amara.”

“Uh, yeah, I just watched you win a gold medal,” Jake said.

The video cut to a talking head of Jake.

“My names Jake Pentecost. This will be my first season as a professional partner on Dancing with the Stars. I was on season one, but I had to leave. I know because of that, there are people who think I’m not going to take this seriously, so I’m here to prove them wrong. I’m going to be the best damn partner this show has ever seen.”

“Wait, so how old are you?” Jake asked.

“15,” Amara said.

“Oh, damn.”

“Am I the youngest this season?”

“I think you’re the youngest ever.”

Jake and Amara share a look.

It cut back to the talking head.

“We have a lot to prove,” Jake said solemnly.

The video changed scenes to the practice room. Jake counted as they moved through a few complicated steps, feet moving in almost a blur.

“I think Jake and I really hit it off. We have the same kind of humor and we both want to win this really badly,” Amara said.

“Ok,” Jake said back in the practice room. “Now I want you to backflip over to me.”

He chuckled but Amara just nodded.

“Alright. Do you want like only one or?”

“Wait, you can actually do that?” Jake asked off kilter

“Dude, gold medal.”

Jake grinned.

“Oh, this is going to be so cool.”

“Yeah, it kind of surprised me. Because Jake seemed like the type of guy who liked to mess around but when it’s time to get down to work he’s very serious.”

“Let’s do that again,” Jake said as they finished a combination.

“Watch your arms.”

“Come on relax and let’s go again.”

“I’m glad. I think he has some creative ideas and I’m really looking forward to this season. We’re going to crush it and get that mirror ball trophy,” Amara grinned, and the video faded to the Dancing with the Star mirror ball.

 

[“Dancing the Cha Cha, Amara Namani and her partner Jake Pentecost.”](https://youtu.be/J1NN2s2_auQ?t=93)

The stage was pitch black, Hermann could barely see Amara and Jake in the middle of it. And then a thousand bright pinpricks of lights exploded over the stage, swirling and falling until it was just a spotlight on the two. The dance started with a blast of energy from the two of them, bright smiles, fast footwork, and as if that wasn’t enough, lasers.

It was a spectacle. The only thing that made Hermann ok with the over the top light show was that Amara’s dancing was truly amazing. She kept up with him almost effortlessly, and she kept a bright playful smile on her face the whole time. It was a great dance. A fun dance. Even if he did think to have actual fireworks at the end was a little over the top.

 The audience screamed in applause as the music faded and Jake swept Amara up into a twirling hug like he had done when they first met. They both ran over to the judging table, trying their best not to look like they couldn’t breathe even though they had just danced their hearts out.

 “I know what Hermann’s going to say,” Newton said immediately. “It’s too exciting for my poor old boring heart. All that creativity and color and magnificent choreography, disgraceful, you should be ashamed of yourself,” Newton said in a frankly terrible impression of Hermann.

“Now do not put words in my mouth, I would never say such things. I just-,”

“Excuse me, Hermann it’s my turn to talk.”

“Oh, terribly sorry, shall I just let you slander-.”

“The dance was a fantastic way to start the season!” Herc said loudly, pointedly.

“Really amazing guys,” Newton said back on topic. “Amara your energy and footwork were top notch. Everybody better watch out for you two.”

“You really did you wonderful,” Hermann said. “Even if it was a bit much for my taste.”

“Told you,” Newton cut in.

“Explosions Newton! Explosions!”

“And they were awesome explosions!”

Hermann huffed.

“As long as you keep the energy and precision that you had today, I suppose I can forgive the spectacle,” he finished.

“It’s good to have you back Jake, I’m looking forward to what you and Amara will be able to accomplish this season,” Herc said neutrally.

As Tendo took them away for an interview, Hermann looked down at his notes and pondered. He thought the audience would be very upset with his score, but the audience tended to think everyone should get 10s in the first week. Jake and Amara had a fun and good dance, but there was still a lot of room to improve and the audience didn’t seem to realize that.

“Alright, judges your scores now. Newt Geiszler,” Tendo said.

“8!”

“Herc Hensen.”

“8!”

“Hermann Gottlieb.”

“7.”

“A total score of 23 points!”

 

The last two contestants were nothing to write home about. Hermann could see them getting far if not for the fact they had a pretty talented and popular group of contestants this season. Although Jules and her partner Cheung ended the night with a beautiful foxtrot that earned them a score of 21. Hermann almost sighed in relief when Tendo announced it was time for the elimination.

Hermann didn’t particularly like eliminations. In episodes like this, it was a long and drawn out process to send home a person everyone already knew was going to go home. He thought it was pointless and Tendo’s pauses were much too long. However, in episodes where he had begun to care who goes home, he didn’t like it because he knew he had no control over who would be leaving, and you could never trust the audience to make the right decision. It felt torturously long.

Luckily, they had been running slow so Tendo was unable to draw it out as long as he liked to. To no one’s surprise, Annabelle was sent home and the only one who seemed upset about that was Aleksis. It probably had less to do with not being able to win and more to do with the bet he had going with Sasha that Sasha had told Hermann about once. He was sure it was some strange sex thing, so he had bolted from that conversation before he could get too many details.

With a final goodbye from Tendo and a reminder to tune in next week for Latin night, Stacker called for a cut and as quick as it started, the first episode was done. Everyone was still a buzz though, riding that first episode high. Hermann caught sight of Mako and Raleigh huddled together whispering together about something and felt his heart swell. His attention was pulled away from Newton scraping back his chair and standing up with a large over the top stretch.    

Just as affected as everyone else, Hermann was riding the high of the first episode ending and the prospect of a riveting season to come. He was practically giddy and that is the justification for what he did next.

“Newton,” Hermann called getting up from the table and following him backstage.

Newton paused and turned, frowning. Before Hermann's sense could remind him it was a bad idea he reached out and grabbed Newton’s arm. Lightly, but certainly more than he usually allowed himself. Newton looked down at the hand as though he had never seen one before.

“I think you’re right,” Hermann said.

“What,” Newton said flummoxed.

“I believe this will be the best season yet.”

Hermann smiled, tight-lipped and small, but a smile none the less, and turned away, off to find the contestants and go over some deeper critiques. He could feel Newton staring at him as he walked away but ignored it.

He hadn’t lied, there was something buzzing beneath his skin, a change in the air, a change in the tempo. Season 10 of Dancing with the Stars would be something to behold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of the dances have videos attached so I didn't have to describe them lol. I couldn't find a video I thought fit Hannibal but I based his dancing off of Wanya. I had planned about 8 chapters, one for each episode but that has gone out the window so who's to say what will happen. Next few chapters will be from Newt's point of view though. Fun fun fun.


	3. Chapter 3

Newt was fucked.

He wished it was in the good way, because he really really needed to be fucked in the good way, but unfortunately, he was just fucked in the sad pathetic way he’d been fucked for like the last half of his life.

See, Newt was always lulled into the false sense of security that he was completely unfucked every time a season ended. It was only when he came back, and he saw Hermann's pinched little face and ridiculously long limbs did he remember that there wasn't a single moment of his life since he had first seen that YouTube video that he was not in love with Hermann Gottlieb and therefore 100% bad way fucked. And usually, Newt could handle that. That was old news. 

Hermann was a stuffy old man that Newt was in love with and could never be with for reasons including that Hermann low key hated him, he was the biggest dick Newt had ever met, and oh maybe because he was married.

So yeah, Newt was good with being fucked. He had long ago accepted that this was going to be his fate until some miracle happened and Newt was allowed to fall out of love. But then Hermann had decided to be a complete asshole and switch things up on him and go and just _touch_ him. Ok, sure, Newt had done it first; he had a moment of weakness, and he didn't regret being able to feel Hermann's arms under his palms for even just a second. But it wasn’t like he had given into the screaming instinct that told Newt to just lean in further and kiss him. Newt was pretty proud of the self-control he had, take that everyone one (Hermann) who said he had the self-discipline of an untrained dog raised in the woods. And anyway, Newt was allowed to touch Hermann, he did it all the time when they were allowed to sit next to each other. It was Hermann who made this a big Thing by touching him back. Really, it was all Hermann’s fault for being a terrible husband who never talks about his wife, and for sometimes looking at Newt as though he didn’t hate him, and for reaching out _touching_ Newt, and for smiling at him with absolutely no warning.

Damn, Newt was fucked.

Tendo had noticed. He had even commented on it when they went out for their post first episode drink. It was always a fun time where they did nothing but gossiped, and trash talked the contestants in a way they probably weren't supposed to. Newt must have been as out of it as he felt because Tendo had asked if anything was wrong when Newt apparently hadn’t reacted the way he was expected when Tendo made fun of Hannibal’s shoes. Newt didn’t know how to say “well Hermann touched me, and I feel like my whole world has been turned inside out” without sounding like some 12-year-old trying to write a Twilight fanfic, so he had brushed it off and ordered another beer. Tendo allowed himself to be brushed and Newt did his best to focus on the hot gossip. He’d be better the next day.

He was not better the next day. That night Newt had had _dreams_. Not the fun dreams, of course, those Newt could understand, even if he felt a little guilty in the morning, but the soppy dreams. The dreams that left Newt's heart aching as he woke and lingering throughout the day, as images spun in his head all too realistic and fake at the same time. Hermann would never smile at him like that. He would never reach out and rest his rough, long-fingered hand on his arm with a soft almost unnoticeable squeeze.

Oh, wait. He _had_ done that.

See, it all came back to being Hermann’s fault.

The week had passed like a beginner’s waltz tune, much too slow to keep Newt occupied. Tendo got fed up with him 3 days in and threatened to change the locks on his doors if Newt didn’t go do something soon, anything that wasn’t on his couch. Newt had hoped that as the week passed, he would smooth out; his heart would stop leaping into his throat every time he thought of the first episode, he would stop feeling the lingering burn of Hermann’s touch. But it turned out to be the opposite. Every day he got further from the first episode, he got closer to the second episode, where he would see Hermann again, probably back to his scowling, non-touching self.

He made it through the week, drowning himself in the classes he taught, overbooking himself, surprising people who were told he wouldn't be able to work with them months out. Still, it was barely enough. Every night he went home exhausted, and it was the only way he was able to sleep. If he were lucky, it would be a dreamless sleep.

It was the night before shooting, and Newt felt like that time he had to dance three two-hour programs in a row and had only gotten through it by shotgunning Redbulls laced with 5-hour energies. It was a weird contradiction of too much energy and bone wearing exhaustion. Newt knew he needed to sleep, he wouldn't want to make that new kid waste a bunch of makeup trying to hide the bags under his eyes, but the idea of laying in bed and closing his eyes felt suffocating. There was something beneath his skin that was begging to be released. So he did what he had to do, he packed a bag and made his way to the Dancing with the Starts practice studios. 

The studio was dark as it should be nearing midnight, but Newt could still see a few lights on, most likely the few overachieving couples training as late as they possibly could. Maybe a professional making a last-minute choreography change. Or perhaps someone who needed the time alone just like Newt. He hoped he wouldn't run into anyone, he really didn't want to be Judge Newt right now. He just needed to burn the ridiculous amounts of energy that had built up in him, and that wasn't conducive to pretending celebrities could dance well or being nice about it. Newt used his key card to scan in through a side door, thankful to see it still worked even this late, he hadn’t been sure it would, and he wasn’t sure what he would have done if it didn’t.

The studio was silent in a way it never was during the day. There were no cameras or sound microphones. Quan wasn’t running to and fro as though the whole operation would dissolve in any second. The practice rooms sat empty and dark, no scuffing of shoes or distant trills of music. Newt didn’t like it. He wanted to yell just so that he could pretend the sound waves were dancing through the air, knocking into walls, stirring up the empty halls. Dance studios were not made for stillness.

In the end, he was glad he refrained because it allowed him to hear the distant murmurs of voices. Interest piqued, Newt wondered down the hall following the sound. He wondered who was still here this late at night, which pair had the dedication, or stupidity, to be honest, to pull a late night just before performing. Newt turned a corner and then practically dove back around it when he caught sight of Jake and Nate in what seemed to be some sort of standoff in the middle of the hall. He peaked his head back around carefully, but neither of them was likely to take notice what with them making the most intense eye contact Newt had ever seen not in a movie laced with homoerotic subtext.

“Look, you need to take this seriously,” Nate said, almost seething.

They were leaned against opposite walls, it could have been mistaken for a friendly chat if not for the barely control raged that leaked out of Nate’s voice.

“I don’t know why you think I’m not taking this seriously,” Jake said. "Because the leaderboard says differently.”

“You never take anything seriously.”

The silence was heavy, pregnant with something that made Newt think of all those rumors back in season one. Jake's smile dropped, only for second before he was grinning again, though now a little twisted, a little forced. Jake shook his head and pulled out a granola bar, slowly unwarping it as the silence stretched out between them.

"Why did you come back, Jake?" Nate asked with a sigh.

The animosity was gone, replaced with honest confusion and the lingering hints of something more melancholic.

“I didn’t want to come back,” Jake finally said, taking a bite from the bar. “I was fine where I was, teaching old people how to dance as we sailed around the world. Then Mako called in a favor. I couldn’t turn her down after how much she helped me back then. I was still unsure though. But you know what? I was sitting there, looking at the beautiful sunset on the Bora Bora coast and with a fancy cocktail in my hand and I thought, I can’t wait to see the look on Nate’s dumb handsome face when I win the mirror ball instead of him.”

Newt could see Nate’s lips twitch, a half smile that was quickly hidden by a scowl.

“Ah, not really like that,” Jake said waving to Nate’s face. “I think it’ll be more like.”

He squinted his eyes and twisted his lips as far down as they could go, looking more like grumpy cat than Nate.

"It seems my chiseled jawline and sexy hair didn't stand a chance to your dancing and choreographing prowess," Jake mocked with a spot on American accent and raspy voice. “I admit my defeat; the most handsome man won this time.”

“You talk some big talk for someone who hasn’t won yet or at all for that matter.”

“Yeah, you’re lucky I was gone all these seasons. Wanted to give other people a fighting chance.”

Newt shook his head and ducked away just as Nat’s face twisted into a bemused smile. Those two. It’s like they didn’t even realize their little bickering was just a way to flirt. That’s pretty sad.

He quickly turned the other way and found a practice room as far away from Nate and Jake as he could. Didn't want to interrupt their eye sex or anything. The room he found was on the top floor and had wide open windows that let him see the bright lights of Las Vegas, the strip a distant haze that made the night sky an odd brown rather than black. Newt took a deep breath, he could still feel the stirring in his veins, but it felt more appeased here than it had felt all week.

Newt pulled out his phone and scrolled through Spotify until he found a playlist that was pleasantly named FUCK!!!, which he felt aptly described what had driven him to the practice studio at almost midnight the day before filming. He turned the volume as high as it would go and pressed play.

The music blasted out, with a loud screech of guitars and the crashing of drums and somehow it felt freeing. It was angry. Newt took a deep breath and reached down to start stretching. He could deal with angry.

He liked angry, though he wasn’t totally sure who he was angry with. Was he angry at Hermann? Sure, maybe. But for what? For being the person in the world he connected to the most, for dancing so openly and perfectly that Newt was unable to look at anything without comparing it to what he once saw, for being the biggest asshole one second and then smiling so softly Newt thought he was going to break the next, for being fucking married? Maybe he was angry at himself. For knowing all of these things and still letting Hermann so completely own his heart. 

The drums and yelling fed into him, like a fanning a fire.

Yeah, maybe he was angry, he thought. Maybe he was pissed. No, he was definitely pissed off. Why was he here in the middle of the night feeling so god damned filled with feelings he couldn’t, shouldn’t have? Feelings that were too much for Newt to hold in his body, too much for him to even understand. Hermann didn’t feel like this. It was just him. For what? Why?

The music came to a resounding crash, and Newt almost leaped from the ground shaking. 

He didn’t deserve this, he thought. He was pissed.

And then the song changed, and all that anger evaporated, leaving a wide gaping hole. No more crashing drums or angry screams. The new song began with a piano. It was soft and level, scared. Newt would have barely noticed it if not for the void the anger had left. It was too delicate for Newt to move as though a single step would break the gentle string of music, he stayed couched where he stood, waiting. And then the singer began to sing. A small desperate line, so terribly tired and resigned to his fate. 

The void quickly turned to ice that crawled up into Newt's chest sitting heavy and painfully. Because Newt knew he wasn't angry at all. It was so much easier to be angry than be  _this_ , this terrible concoction of desperation and longing and love.

The singer’s voices reminded Newt of his mother back when he went on tour with her. How she made him feel all these things a kid had no reason to feel, sadness he didn’t know how to process, joy he couldn’t comprehend. It was like that, though now he wasn’t a boy and he understood. The singer’s low heartbroken tone nailed him to the ground in a half squat, even though every inch of him screamed for him to move. To do something more than sit here and ache.

The music swelled, and it was like a bullet ripped through his brain.

Newt rose to his feet slowly. He could see it now, every line and move playing out like a story in his mind. He could feel it in the shifting of his ankles and a buzzing in his fingertips. He was barely aware of his feet moving him to his phone, his mind occupied.

A rumba.

No, a foxtrot. A slow, graceful foxtrot.

No. If this dance was to be what it needed to be, there was only one thing this dance could be.

Newt restarted the song and took his place in the middle of the dance floor. He took a deep breath, perhaps the heaviest breath he had ever taken.

And then he began to waltz.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have a 2k of Newt pining and being sad without any dancing. To be made up for with the next chapter which will have less Newt being sad (maybe) and more dancing.

**Author's Note:**

> yall, idk anything about ballroom dancing or tv so settle in for some bullshit. Also, I'm a slow updater so prepare yourselves.


End file.
